This invention relates generally to fireplace enclosures, and more particularly to panelled enclosures of the type employing one or more sets of hinge-connected folding doors.
Prior enclosures of the folding door type have employed pairs of lugs on the free ends of the two inner doors, wherein the lugs were adapted to ride in tracks or grooves in the upper or lower cross supports of the frames. Typically, in units having four door panels the outer two were hingedly connected to the frame, with the inner two being connected respectively to the outer two by hinges. By such an arrangement, each of the inner panels could be folded onto its respective outer panel as the hinge joining the two was shifted outwardly.
While such a construction operated satisfactorily, there was a tendency for the lugs to bind in the tracks, especially if the latter became dirty, or if the doors became slightly warped. As a result, smooth operation was difficult to achieve, particularly after the unit had been in use over a substantial length of time.
Prior latch mechanisms for the doors tended to be either too complex and expensive to produce, or ineffective in that they were difficult to operate. In many cases, the handles for such latch mechanisms were located directly in front of the fire and thus tended to become excessively hot after several hours.
Frequently, one or more collapsible wire mesh screens were employed with a glass door enclosure, to confine the burning ashes while still permitting heat convection into the room. The pull-chain mechanisms employed with such screens often involved complex guides or channels for the chain. In addition, problems were encountered where it was desired to have a slight overlap of the screens, as opposed to having them merely abut one another. Many prior units were thus both costly to produce and sometimes ineffective in use.